Don Marcello, Lord Of Desire

Prologue

Elsa

I can still remember. I can still remember it all as if just happened last night. It's still fresh in my mind; the trauma that will haunt my thoughts forever...

"So this is my daughter, Elsa De Luca," Father said to a circle of his business associates, pulling me closer with a gentle tug. I gave a brief smile, as trained. Growing up in a Mafioso family has a lot of pros and cons, and a lot of strictness to abide by, right from birth. The most important thing about being a girl is how to behave in front of people of that caliber.

I noticed that these were all new faces. I don't even have any idea what they are here for or what this party is about, but I had to attend because my father demanded so. I have been through this several times, I get over the stubbornness of refusing to attend because it never yields since my father is a dictator and he always gets what he wants.

It's easy if you don't give it too much thought; be as graceful as possible, don't smile too much and don't be too grim, don't dance unless your mother or father permits you to, don't drink beyond two glasses if liquor unless you are sure your bodyguard is near you and you won't disgrace your self in front of the guests and game your family's reputation, do not talk to any random men, unless introduced to you by your father or mother, blah, blah blah... And so many other rules I have had on my fingertips since childhood and make sure I don't break when at such gatherings.

"Well, how are you, Elsa? You look stunning tonight," one old man says with a smirk on his face. He looks like an old man in his mid-sixties but with the young charm of a playboy. I dare not to blush and murmur a thank-you.

"She has pursued her Bachelor of Business Administration at Columbia Business School. I expect so much from her," he says with fatherly pride that I haven't seen him show for some good years.

"You have every right to. She seems smart," another bald guy in a denim jacket comments and drinks from his bourbon.

"That she is. That's why I dared to take her that far to pursue her studies," he says.

The banter goes on for a few more minutes while I keep smiling politely at their remarks.

I know very well how Italians don't value a girl's working potential and ability to build an empire for themselves. They treasure boys and believe in their potential more than the girls. Fortunately or unfortunately, I am my dad's only child, unless there are others out there I don't know about. I don't trust any Mafia in the case of a boy child. It is unbelievable to the whole world that my father only settled for me as his only child and ultimate heir, a girl.

After being excused, I head for the lady's room to make sure my make-up is still good.

I take in a long breath on my way out and pray this party ends soon. I am bored over my head. I know no one here other than Dad and I certainly can't enjoy myself.

At the point where the corridor joins the main hall of the Silvestri mansion, there is a commotion that makes me halt in my heels. I hear two loud gunshots from outside followed by my typically loud lady screens.

What is happening?

A waiter lets go of the tray full of glasses of tequila shots, and they scatter on the floor into pieces. Women a wailing like bereft widows and everyone is running around randomly, men and women indistinguishable, everyone for themselves.

There is another gunshot.

My ear goes deaf for a moment and I stand there as if paralyzed, watching the commotion, unmoving like I am not in this place. People are bumping into each other, one man is on the floor and women keep jumping over him running for their lives, some digging their long heels into his body.

A heavy body landing on me startles me out of my trance. I land straight on my front and my arm in the broken glass pieces. The man runs past me without looking back and makes for the door like everyone else.

That is when I get my sense back.

Father!

I quickly get on my feet and dash to the door in an indignant run.

Father! Please be alright, father!

I rash out of the house to the front yard where the party has been set. There is a lot of noise; wails, cars screeching away through the driveway, people running about and the whole scene is just unrecognizable. I try hard but da to identify my father amongst all the men in black suits all over the place.

I pray hard in my heart that Father is fine. He should be fine. Oh God, please let him be fine.

I squeeze through the crowd and get slammed by people running for their lives, but that doesn't stop me from looking around.

Probably also looking around for me. He must be. Nothing can happen to him. His bodyguards are always alert. I keep affirming myself though my whole body is shaking and I am almost completely engulfed in fear.

There is a large crowd gathered on the right side of the compound, near the garage. I run toward them, trying to squeeze through but hardly making it. Everyone looks dreadfully worried and that just hypes my tension.

I manage to get through to the center of the circle where my biggest fear has come true. I fail to keep straight. My legs give way, and I end up sitting on the ground next to my blood-soaked father. Before I knew it, tears were running down my cheeks and my body was shaking violently.

"Elsa," some voice calls me from behind, and a hand touches my shoulder. That did it.

"Don't you dare touch me!" I scream shaking the hand off my shoulder. I crawl to where my dead father lay in a pool of his blood.

"Papa," I cry, calling out, hoping that he will wake up.

"Papa!" I wrap my hands around him, getting my gray gown equally soaked in his blood, but that would be the least of my concerns at the moment.

"Papa, please wake up! Don't go! Don't leave me, papa!" I cry out, my voice broken and helpless. I hold right onto him and shriek loudly begging him not to leave me.

"Elsa!" someone calls me and some hands try to disentangle me from my father.

"Stay away from me!" I shout, suddenly hating everyone around me.

"Elsa, please come down," the same voice insists. I instantly turn to look at him. Matteo, my father's bodyguard looks as guilty as he should be.

"Where were you? Where the fuck were you when this happened?" I am practically shouting at the top of my lungs.

"Miss Elsa, please try to calm down," he says.

"Calm down? How dare you tell me to calm down? Stay away from me and my father!" I try hard but fail to keep my voice low. Everyone's attention has been turned to me and I am acting delirious.

I go back to mourning with my head laid on my father's chest, feeling the life getting sucked away from me.

My dearest father is gone. I don't want to live that life without him. I have a good number of suicidal plans running in my momentarily deranged mind.

I have to stay alive!

I must avenge!

Whoever has done this will pay dearly with their life for this! I swear this on my father's body.

Ambulance sirens sound from behind the crowd, and the next thing I know, I am being torn forcefully from my father. I am crying and screaming bitterly. At that moment I had already lost all my self-control and reasoning. I could only think of revenge; bloody murder!

THREE MONTHS LATER

Elsa

Mamma Rosa has brought me over to Uncle Lorenzo's party, literally by force, but I had no choice. Ever since the last party I attended three months ago, I have been under this trauma of staying inside and not wanting to be around people because I don't trust a single soul. Everyone seems to be after me, they want me dead. They want my family's fortune.

Rosa has been fighting against this and mostly Rita, my best friend right from childhood. I have lost a lot of weight and Rita keeps emphasizing how much I look like a ghost. I know that alright, but this is not my fault. I couldn't fight the depression that followed after my father's death. Papa was my everything, and my entire life was centred around him, especially after divorcing Mamma eleven years ago. Even after remarried, Rosa and I have never been close. She's my stepmother after all and our worlds are so much apart. Rosa never bore Papa any child, and he never pushed for one. Despite our lives being parallel, she has tried to be very comforting lately and I have left her.

Mamma offered to take me to live with her in Milan, but I turned her down. She is currently living with her boyfriend, Riccardo, and I am not so familiar with him. I chose to remain here in Palermo. Besides, Milan is so far from Sicily and I have only been there on short vacations. I knew I would be fine with Rita here with me.

"Elsa!" Aunt Diana shrieks when she notices me entering their gallery, where the party is being held.

She looks stunning in a golden gown and brown heels. Classy as ever, Diana! She never disappoints.

She kisses me on both cheeks.

"I am so delighted, Elsa. I thought you would turn my innovation down," she says, scrutinizing me with a great concern evident in her brown eyes.

"I wouldn't Aunt Diana. I know how much you and Uncle Lorenzo worry so much about me. I wouldn't turn down your invitation for anything. Family always comes first," I say, and smile at her. She gives back a bright motherly smile and pulls me into a bear hug.

"Come here, you poor darling. I know you are going through a lot but take heart. You should know you are not alone. We are all here for you," she says into my ear.

I don't like it when people show so much pity for me. I want to affirm to myself that I am handling well this and I am going to be fine. But I guess I am not. Tears begin to well in my eyes but I blink them back. Nothing is going to ruin my evening. I am going to have fun and forget about everything! I assure myself and confidently walk into the party.

For the last three months, everything in my life took a drastic turn. The security for our entire family increased tenfold. Everywhere I go, my two special bodyguards are not more than ten feet away. We made changes in the security system around the entire mansion at home. All our security personnel are ex-army men, with instructions to kill on the spot anyone who threatens the security of a De Luca family member. Movements are much restricted and highly monitored.

Uncle Lorenzo is my father's young brother, from my late grandfather's second wife. He was my father's right hand and the second in power in the Sicilian Mafia, a highly dangerous and wealthy criminal organization in Italian whose power and influence stretches over Europe, North America, and the Caribbean. After my father's death, he was left in charge of his illegal businesses and he had already been in charge even before his death. They had always been so close.

Even though I am my father's legitimate heir, I was only given the legal dealings since he was careful not to bring up his daughter in the Mafia society. He kept me hidden from it and never told me a thing about his illegal businesses and his plans. He only made sure that I got to know the people he thought would be important to me in his absence and those that I should avoid. He only gave me details about his legal businesses, lots of details actually, since it was clear that these would eventually belong to me.

Midway through the party, I received a call from Rita who has made a habit of calling me as often as every two hours to check on me. I excuse myself to take it. As I suspected, she just wanted to know how the party was going and how I was doing. I assured her that I was having fun and there was no need for her to worry at all.

On my way back to the table where Rosa, Aunt Diana, and Uncle Lorenzo are seated, I get a creepy feeling that I am being followed.

Shit!

I hate this. I hate it when this kind of suspicion arises in me because it is always proven right.

I turn around to check for my bodyguard and there he is standing by the minibar. I take in a deep breath walk straight to the table and take a sit.

I try not to think about it but in vain. I have never felt secure anywhere, especially around the mafia business associates. They are all enemies. They work together and against each other. They acquire wealth on bloodshed, maintain in on people's souls, and in the end lose in on bloodshed. My father was right to shield me from such people.

I could ask for permission and leave the party sooner. I could say that I am not feeling alright. That would be understandable, and I would have security with me, so there would be no need to worry about me.

"Elsa! Are you alright?" Uncle Lorenzo's voice startles me out of my trance. Everyone's eyes are now fixed on me.

"You look worried, darling? Is something the matter?" Diana inquires, cocking her head to the side to study my face.

Shit!

"I am fine. I am just thinking," I respond, my voice giving me away. Oh crap! I didn't want to worry everyone. I don't want to ruin anyone's evening because of my wild suspicions.

"Are you sure, Mia Caro? You don't look fine. Am I right, Rosa?" Diana insists.

"Elsa, if you are not feeling well, you can go home and take Diego and Matteo with you," Uncle Lorenzo says.

"I am just feeling a little weary. I am sorry I won't finish the party with you guys," I say, feeling guilty of a sudden.

"It is okay, diletto. Health should be a priority, always," uncle says.

In the car back home, Matteo and Diego are in the front seats and I am at the back. I wish I had drunk myself to oblivion back at the party, though it would be totally out of character to get drunk at such a family gathering.

I close my eyes and try to think of good things. I am going to get myself a bottle of wine from the cellar when I get home and take it to my room, drink till I fall asleep, and listen to music that will do nominally to heal my soul.

Fuck! I need to get laid. I am losing the fun part of me. I am slowly falling apart.

My boyfriend Sergio has been so far from me for a long time. I don't even know if I should call him ex-boyfriend right now. I miss him a lot sometimes and sometimes hate him so much. I want to believe that it is not his fault. I am the one who cut him off and refused to meet him because I was having my dilemma, but he should have also been man enough to put some pressure and put the situation in his own hands. That's why I want such a man in my life. One who can control things and has enough power to make me melt.

I open my eyes and look out into the brightly lit streets of Palermo. This has been my home ever since I was born. I can't manage to live with Mamma in Milan. She is a busy woman too. I don't want to bother her.

Diego's face is tensed up. He keeps. looking at the rear-view mirror.

"We are being followed," Diego announces. My body tenses up immediately and my heartbeat hikes.

Oh God!

Elsa

"What! Are you sure?" I inquire.

"Yes, signora. There is a black Saab two cars behind us. It has been following us from Lorenzo De Luca's household," Diego responds.

"It is still a probability. We are going to take a shortcut and see if they still follow us," Matteo says, his face fixed on the road.

It is still a probability, which means we may not be followed. But it can't be a coincidence that I felt it at the party and now we might be followed.

We drive into an alley. I try so hard to stay calm but it is not working.

Through the alley, we make it to another road.

"I think we have lost them," Matteo announces after some time.

I also look behind and don't see the black Saab. I take in a deep breath.

Matteo drives faster than before and I pray we reach home soon.

When we branch off the main road, the black Saab is spotted again.

Shit! Oh, shit!

Diego makes a call to the other security personnel to report the situation. Hot Blood starts pounding in my ears, and I am afraid I may pass out. We are almost home. We are going to be alright. I keep assuring myself with this mantra to calm down so that I don't pass out.

Matteo branches off to another alley and don't dare ask any questions because it won't be of any help to my apprehension.

"I hope we lose them this time round," Matteo says. Diego keeps on the phone. He is talking to Uncle Lorenzo this time around.

I keep regretting why I left early on my own, but regretting is not a reasonable thing to do at this time.

The Saab follows us into the alley this time round. It's confirmed!

Oh God!

Matteo steps the wheel and the wheels screech, echoing loudly throughout the alley. I hold tightly onto my seat belt. At the same time, my phone rings. I try picking it up but my hands are shaking violently.

When I pick it up from my purse, the Caller ID shows it's Mamma Rosa. We make a sharp corner into another dimly lit alley, making me lurch forward, the phone falling out of my hands onto the floor of the car. Before I can pick it up. I hear gunshots.

No! No!!!

Please no gunshots! I scream in my head and tears start flowing uncontrolled down my cheeks.

Memories of that night start flooding unfiltered into my mind. My father lying dead in a pool of his blood.

Nooo!!!

More gunshots.

Diego pulls out two shotguns and shoots back through the window.

This is a nightmare. The worst night nightmare. I cover my ears with my palms and pray for all this to end.

All the windows of all the vehicles home are bulletproof, but that is not so comforting.

Matteo drives at an even maddening speed, not giving a thought that we now entered traffic once again. The shooting stops for a moment. We drive in the traffic breaking all the speed limit rules of the city. The Saab is still on our tail. We branch into another Street alley and Diego answers a call. Another time security is coming to join us. The Saab is now following more closely but it is too dark to see who is inside.

They want me. I am also sure of that. And they want me dead. I am the only one that is in the way of my papa's wealth. They are going to kill me.

"They have shot our back wheels," Matteo announces. We can't go far with punctured back wheels.

Diego shoots through the window but I am so worried for him because he is putting himself on the front line.

My head starts spinning. I don't want to lose consciousness. I want to stay alert.

Another vehicle closes in on us from the front. It is surely not our vehicle. One hand points out of the passenger window of that car with a gun.

Enemy! He shoots at Duego and he immediately puts his head back in the car.

"We are surrounded!" Matteo announces on the phone.

I can't hold on any longer.

Gunshots from in front and behind. Matteo lets go of the wheel gets two shotguns and begins shooting at the front. I feel so hopeless.

Two goons come out of the front car and come toward us. Diego shoots off one and he falls dead.

Three more come out of the car in front of us. Then the car drives closer to us, the aim clear that he wants to run into ours.

We are overpowered.

Where is the reinforcement we called for?

Next thing I know there is a gun on Diego's head. How did that happen so fast? There is the blasting sound of a gun. I just close my screaming over my lungs. I don't even want to see Diego's remains spilt all over the car.

There are numerous firing and screeching of car tyres. I open my eyes and see Diego's head still intact but the person who wanted to shoot him is not there anymore. Outside, there were two men dressed more casually than the goons that were attacking us. There is another car behind the Saab, a BMW. There is a man in a blue suit, shooting at the car in front of us. He has two more men behind him who have shot down the driver of their saab and the man who had put Dirgo at gunpoint.

Is this man our saviour?

"Don Marcello?" Matteo says.

The car in front of us smashes head-on into our car, breaking the windshield into pieces. We are now exposed. Guns point at us. Gumshoots follow from all directions. I bend behind the driver's seat to hide. But I can no longer hear anything in a few seconds. Have I been shot? I try to fight to stay alive but I feel numb. I can only see black.